SB 


•NRLF 


SUPPHESSIOE  OF  TEE  GIPSY  ABD 
BROBN-IAIL  MOTHS  AO  ITS 
VALUE  TO  STATES  KOT  IlTffESTED 


By  A.F.   Burgess 
U.S.D.A.    Yearbook  of  1916  -  JJo.   706 


SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  GIPSY  AND 

BROWN-TAIL  MOTHS  AND  ITS 

VALUE  TO  STATES  NOT 

INFESTED 


BY 

A.  F.  BURGESS 

In  Charge  of  Gipsy  Moth  and  Brown-Tail  Moth  Investigations 
Bureau  of  Entomology 


The  New  England  States  are  carrying  the  greater  part  of 
the  burden  of  gipsy  moth  and  brown-tail  moth  infestation 
because  from  them  come  mainly  the  funds  for  control  work 
and  they  are  suffering  from  the  injury  caused  by  the  insects, 
but  the  money  appropriated  by  the  Federal  Government, 
while  assisting  these  States  in  some  measure,  is  also  pro- 
viding insurance  to  the  uninfested  States,  and  that  at  a 
very  low  rate. 


Separate  from  Yearbook  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  1916 

No.  706 


WASHINGTON  :  GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE  :  1917 


SBq45 


Atric. -Forestry-.  Main  Library 


SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  GIPSY  AND  BROWN-TAIL 
MOTHS  AND  ITS  VALUE  TO  STATES  NOT  IN- 
FESTED. 

By  A.  F.  BURGESS, 

In  Charge  of  Gipsy  Moth  and  Brown-tail  Moth  Investigations,  Bureau 
of  Entomology. 

MANY  years  ago  a  circumstance  occurred  at  Medford, 
Mass.,  which  was  destined  to  cause  enormous  expense 
and  trouble  in  that  community  and  throughout  the  neighbor- 
ing States.  About  1869,  Prof.  Leopold  Trouvelot,  a  French 
naturalist  who  was  a  resident  of  Medford,  introduced  a  few 
egg  clusters  of  the  gipsy  moth  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
ducting experiments  on  silk  culture.  During  the  course  of 
the  experiments  some  of  the  caterpillars  escaped.  Realizing 
that  the  insect  was  a  serious  pest  in  Europe,  he  made  a  care- 
ful search  on  the  trees  and  in  the  woodland  nearby  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  any  that  could  be  found.  He  also 
notified  the  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Washington. 
None  of  the  insects  which  had  escaped  could  be  found,  but 
as  no  injury  resulted  during  the  next  few  years,  it  was 
thought  that  the  matter  was  not  of  great  importance. 

About  20  years  later  the  neighborhood  was  invaded  by 
swarms  of  caterpillars  which  were  supposed  by  most  of  the 
residents  to  be  a  native  species  that  had  become  unusually 
abundant.  A  study  of  the  matter  developed  the  fact  that 
the  insect  which  was  defoliating  the  trees  was  the  notorious 
gipsy  moth  of  Europe  and  that  it  had  become  firmly  estab- 
lished in  the  locality  in  which  it  had  originally  escaped  and 
throughout  the  immediate  surroundings.  Its  slow  increase 
seemingly  was  remarkable,  but  this  has  been  accounted  for 
by  the  facts  that  the  wood  and  brush  land  in  the  neighbor- 
hood was  burned  over  every  few  years  by  forest  fires,  that 
insectivorous  birds  and  other  natural  enemies  were  at  that 
time  abundant  in  the  neighborhood,  and  that  the  destruction 
of  a  few  caterpillars  when  the  species  was  very  rare  would 
result  in  holding  down  the  increase  for  a  number  of  years. 

The  city  of  Medford  and  the  State  of  Massachusetts  soon 
interested  themselves  in  a  campaign  to  destroy  this  insect. 
It  had  become  so  abundant  in  many  places  during  the  early 
nineties  that  the  trees  in  the  residential  sections  were  de- 

75533—17  1 


2  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

foliated  completely  during  early  summer,  and  the  caterpillars 
swarmed  into  houses,  making  themselves  a  general  nuisance 
throughout  the  community.  In  some  sections  it  was  impos- 
sible to  rent  property  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  the 
caterpillars,  and  real  estate  values  declined  rapidly.  For  10 
years  a  desperate  battle  was  carried  on  by  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts to  exterminate  the  insect,  and  during  that  period 
it  was  found  to  occur  in  greater  or  less  numbers  throughout 
30  towns  and  cities,  principally  toward  the  north  and  west  of 
Boston.  This  work  reduced  the  infestations  to  such  an  extent 
that  many  citizens  who,  during  the  first  part  of  the  period, 
had  been  seriously  annoyed  by  the  pest,  or  had  suffered 
severe  loss  from  it,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  because  it  was 
seldom  seen  the  work  was  unnecessary  and  no  harm  would 
result  if  measures  for  its  control  were  discontinued. 

In  1897  another  foreign  pest,  namely,  the  brown-tail  moth 
of  Europe,  was  discovered  in  Somerville,  Mass.,  and  the 
effort  to  bring  this  insect  under  control  added  to  the  State's 
financial  burdens.  The  caterpillars  of  this  moth  are  pro- 
vided with  hairs  which  cause  severe  itching  and  urtication 
when  coming  in  contact  with  the  human  skin,  producing  an 
eruption  which  is  known  by  those  who  have  experienced  the 
trouble  as  the  "  brown- tail  rash."  Thus,  while  the  gipsy-moth 
caterpillars  were  a  nuisance  on  account  of  their  large  size  and 
disagreeable  appearance,  the  presence  of  caterpillars  of  the 
brown-tail  moth  in  large  numbers  was  actually  unbearable  on 
account  of  the  poisoning  which  resulted  to  the  residents. 

Enough  pressure  was  brought  to  bear,  however,  in  the  fall 
of  1899  to  cause  the  discontinuance  of  State  appropriations 
for  the  control  of  these  insects.  The  residents  soon  found 
that  this  policy  did  not  work  as  anticipated,  for  both  insects 
increased  at  an  alarming  rate,  and  in  the  course  of  three  or 
four  years  the  infestation  had  become  so  bad  that  many  citi- 
zens were  forced  to  attempt  control  measures.  The  work 
which  was  done  was  not  carried  on  in  a  systematic  manner, 
and  while  a  few  exerted  every  effort  to  protect  their  property 
from  the  depredations  of  these  insects  and  to  keep  their  trees 
free  from  the  caterpillars,  many  totally  neglected  to  attend 
to  the  work,  and  the  result  was  a  general  clamor  for  a  sys- 
tematic and  thorough  effort  to  abate  the  nuisance.  During 
this  period  many  acres  of  woodland  became  infested  seri- 
ously and  in  the  years  which  followed  thousands  of  acres 


Suppression  of  the  Gipsy  and  Brown-tail  Moths.         3 

were  defoliated  during  the  early  summer.  Matters  became 
so  serious  in  1905  that  work  was  resumed  by  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts,  but  the  law  was  framed  in  such  a 
way  that  not  only  the  State  but  the  towns  and  cities  and  the 
owners  of  property  were  required  to  give  financial  support 
to  the  undertaking. 

During  the  period  when  no  work  was  being  carried  on  by 
the  State  of  Massachusetts  the  insects  spread  to  Rhode 
Island,  Xew  Hampshire,  and  Maine,  making  the  problem 
far  more  serious  than  before.  In  1906  funds  were  appropri- 
ated by  Congress  to  prevent  the  spread  of  these  insects,  and 
since  that  time  Federal  work  for  this  purpose  has  been 
continued.  It  is  true  that  both  insects  have  spread  over  a 
much  larger  area  since  this  work  began,  but  that  was  to  be 
expected,  owing  to  the  necessity  of  properly  organizing  the 
work  and  developing  new  and  better  methods  for  handling 
the  problem  on  a  scale  unprecedented  for  insect  control. 

The  gipsy  moth  and  the  brown-tail  moth  occur  in  greater 
or  less  numbers  in  all  the  New  England  States.  The  dis- 
persion of  the  brown-tail  moth  covers  a  larger  area  than  that 
of  the  gipsy  moth,  because  both  sexes  of  the  brown-tail  fly 
freely  and,  this  being  the  case,  it  is  very  difficult  to  prevent 
their  spread.  These  white  moths  are  attracted  to  strong 
light,  particularly  electric  arc  lights,  and  about  the  10th 
of  July  of  each  year  they  can  usually  be  found  in  badly 
infested  regions  on  poles,  trees,  or  buildings  near  these 
lights.  The  extent  to  which  they  spread  at  this  time  depends 
largely  on  the  temperature  and  the  direction  and  velocity  of 
the  wind.  These  moths  have  been  taken  *on  the  Nantucket 
Shoals  lightship,  which  is  42  nautical  miles  from  Nantucket, 
the  nearest  land,  and  as  the  infestation  of  that  island  by  this 
insect,  is  very  slight  it  is  probable  that  the  moths  came  from 
a  much  greater  distance.  Frequent  reports  have  been  re- 
ceived from  captains  of  sailing  vessels  that  swarms  of  these 
moths  have  been  encountered  from  75  to  100  miles  out  at 
sea,  although  there  is  a  possibility  that  there  may  have  been 
a  mistake  in  identifying  the  insect.  These  facts  indicate 
that  the  possibility  of  rapid  spread,  so  far  as  this  insect  is 
concerned,  is  very  great,  provided  high  temperature  and 
favorable  winds  occur  when  the  moths  are  flying.  Fortu- 
nately, the  prevailing  winds  in  New  England  during  early 
July  are  from  a  southerly  or  southwesterly  direction,  which 


4  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

tends  to  bring  about  a  general  spread  of  the  insect  toward 
the  seacoast  instead  of  inland. 

The  female  moths  deposit  egg  masses  on  the  underside  of 
the  leaves  of  apple,  pear,  oak,  cherry,  rose,  and  numerous 
other  trees  and  plants.  The  caterpillars  hatch  about  the 
middle  of  August  and  feed  for  about  a  month.  The  eggs 
are  usually  laid  on  the  leaves  on  the  terminal  twigs  and  the 
small  caterpillars  draw  a  number  of  these  together  to  form  a 
web,  in  which  they  remain  during  the  winter.  In  the  spring, 
as  soon  as  the  buds  begin  to  expand,  the  caterpillars  emerge 
from  the  webs  and  feed  on  the  buds  and  developing  leaves. 
They  become  full  grown  about  the  middle  of  June  and  spin 
cocoons  either  singly  or  in  masses,  from  which  the  moths 
emerge  during  the  first  part  of  July. 

The  large  caterpillars,  which  are  provided  with  many 
long  hairs,  are  particularly  poisonous. 

The  male  and  female  gipsy  moths  differ  in  color,  the 
former  being  chocolate  brown,  while  the  latter  is  light  cream 
color,  having  wings  marked  with  black.  This  insect  is  in 
the  moth  stage  during  early  July,  but,  fortunately,  the 
female  moths  are  unable  to  fly  on  account  of  the  size  and 
weight  of  their  bodies,  so  that  their  natural  spread  is  not 
as  rapid  as  is  that  of  the  brown-tail  moth.  Clusters  con- 
taining 400  or  more  eggs  are  deposited  by  the  females  on 
trees  or,  in  fact,  on  any  material  which  furnishes  a  some- 
what sheltered  location.  These  clusters  are  about  an  inch 
long,  oval  in  form,  and  are  covered  with  yellowish  hair 
from  the  body  of  the  female.  As  the  eggs  do  not  hatch 
until  the  following  spring,  there  is  ample  opportunity 
for  the  insect  to  be  spread  in  the  egg  stage  during  the  fall 
and  winter  if  lumber,  plant  products,  or  other  material 
upon  which  they  are  deposited  is  shipped  to  outside  points. 
The  caterpillars  hatch  late  in  April  or  early  in  May,  de- 
pending on  the  season,  and  feed  on  the  leaves  which  are  be- 
ginning to  expand.  They  continue  to  feed  and  develop  until 
about  the  first  of  July,  when  pupation  takes  place,  the  moths 
emerging  a  week  or  more  later. 

During  the  first  work  which  was  done  for  the  purpose 
of  controlling  the  gipsy  moth,  a  study  was  made  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  this  insect  was  spread.  It  was  determined  that 
while  the  female  did  not  cause  spread,  since  it  was  impos- 
sible for  her  to  fly,  egg  clusters  were  frequently  transported 


Yearbook  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture.  1916. 


PLATE  I. 


THE  GIPSY  MOTH  (PORTHETRIA  DISPAR). 

Upper  left,  male  moth  with  wings  folded;  just  below  this,  female  moth  with  wings  spread: 
just  below  this,  male  moth  with  wings  spread;  lower  left,  female  moth,  enlarged;  top 
center,  male  pupa  at  left,  female  pupa  at  right;  center,  larva;  on  branch,  at  top,  newly 
formed  pupa;  on  branch,  just  below  this,  larva  ready  to  pupate;  on  branch,  left  side, 
pupae;  on  branch,  center,  egg  cluster;  on  branch,  at  bottom,  female  moth  depositing  egg 
cluster.  All  slightly  reduced  except  figure  at  lower  left.  (Howard  and  Fiske.) 


Yearbook  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  1916. 


PLATE  II, 


THE  BROWN-TAIL  MOTH  (EUPROCTIS  CHRYSORRHOEA). 

Upper  left,  hibernating  web;  just  below  this,  small  larvae  feeding  at  left,  larger  larva  at  right- 
just  below  this,  female  moth  depositing  eggs  at  left,  egg  mass  at  right;  lower  left,  egg 
mass  with  eggs  exposed;  top  center,  male  pupa  at  left,  female  pupa  at  right;  upper  right 
cocoon  incased  in  leaves;  lower  right,  male  moth  above,  female  moth  below.  All  slightly 
reduced.  (Howard  and  Fiske.) 


Yearbook  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  1916. 


PLATE  III. 


I 

1 


FIG.  I.    WOODLAND  COMPLETELY  DEFOLIATED  BY  GIPSY-MOTH 
CATERPILLARS. 


FIG.  2.-APPLE  ORCHARD  COMPLETELY  DEFOLIATED  BY  BROWN- 
TAIL  MOTH  CATERPILLARS. 


Yearbook  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  1916. 


PLATE  IV. 


BROWN-TAIL  MOTHS  ON  ELECTRIC  ARC-LIGHT  POLE, 


Yearbook  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  1916. 


PLATE  V. 


FIG.  I. -MIXED  DECIDUOUS  AND 


FIG.  2.— SAME  WOODLAND  AFTER  FAVORED  FOOD  PLANTS  HAD  BEEN 

REMOVED. 


Yearbook  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  1916. 


PLATE  VI 


GIPSY-MOTH  CATERPILLARS  ON  TREE  TRUNK  BENEATH  STICKY  BAND. 


Yearbook  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  1916. 


PLATE  VII, 


FIG.  I.-MOTER-TRUCK  SPRAYER  IN  OPERATION, 


FIQ.2.-PAVING  BLOCKS  INFESTED  WITH  GIPSY-MOTH  EGG  CLUSTERS. 


Suppression  of  the  Gipsy  and  Brown-tail  Moths.         5 

from  place  to  place  on  shipments  of  lumber  and  other  ma- 
terial, and  that  in  cases  where  heavy  infestations  occurred 
the  caterpillars  might  be  carried  a  considerable  distance  on 
vehicles.  It  is  a  common  habit  of  the  larvaB,  if  they  are  dis- 
turbed, to  spin  silken  threads  which  are  attached  to  the 
trees  and  in  this  way  lower  themselves  to  the  ground.  Since 
the  gipsy-moth  campaign  first  began,  an  unprecedented  de- 
velopment in  means  of  rapid  transportation  has  taken  place. 
At  first  and  for  several  years  motor  vehicles  were  practically 
unknown,  but  for  the  last  few  years  the  increase  in  this  mode 
of  transportation  has  been  enormous.  It  has  been  found, 
however,  as  a  result  of  much  work  and  many  experiments, 
that  if  the  roadways  are  kept  clear  from  heavy  infestation 
the  number  of  caterpillars  distributed  by  motor  vehicles  is 
very  small.  A  number  of  years  ago  the  results  of  the  scout- 
ing work,  which  consists  of  examining  roadways,  orchards, 
and  wooded  areas  for  infestation,  indicated  that  many 
colonies  were  present  the  occurrence  of  which  could  not  be 
explained  by  any  known  means  of  spread.  Woodland  in- 
festations were  found  in  places  that  were  infrequently  visited 
by  men  or  animals.  This  led  to  a  thorough  study  and  a  long 
series  of  experiments  which  proved  conclusively  that  the 
small  caterpillars,  immediately  after  hatching,  may  be  blown 
long  distances  by  the  wind.  It  has  been  proved  that  spread 
often  occurs  for  a  distance  of  from  12  to  20  miles  in  this 
way.  These  facts  would  seem  to  make  the  prevention  of 
spread  of  the  insect  hopeless,  if  not  impossible.  But  the 
same  factors,  namely,  temperature  and  wind  direction,  which 
have  brought  about  the  greatest  drift  of  infestation  by  the 
brown-tail  moth  toward  the  seacoast,  are  equally  effective 
in  connection  with  the  spread  of  small  gipsy-moth  cater- 
pillars. During  the  period  when  these  minute  larvae  can 
be  blown  by  the  wind  it  is  necessary  for  the  temperature  to 
range  from  60°  F.  upward,  the  higher  temperature  increas- 
ing the  activity  of  the  insect.  This  comparatively  high  tem- 
perature must  be  accompanied  by  strong  winds  if  spread  for 
any  great  distance  is  to  result,  and  when  the  combination 
of  high  temperature  and  strong  wind  occurs  in  New  Eng- 
land in  the  month  of  May  the  wind  usually  blows  from  the 
south  or  southwest.  Variations  in  this  general  rule  occur, 
depending  on  how  far  the  locality  is  removed  from  the  sea- 


6  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

board,  and  these  facts  are  taken  into  consideration  in  carry- 
ing on  field  work -against  this  insect. 

The  task  which  has  fallen  to  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  in 
connection  with  gipsy-moth  control  has  been  to  use  every 
effort  possible  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  insect  and  to  re- 
duce the  damage  resulting  therefrom.  It  has  been  necessary 
to  carry  through  many  extensive  experiments  in  order  to 
secure  information  for  use  in  the  field  operations,  and  the 
experimental  work  has  formed  the  basis  and  groundwork  for 
the  application  of  field  methods.  Prior  to  1905  no  effort  was 
made  to  introduce  the  parasites  and  natural  enemies  of  the 
gipsy  moth  or  the  brown-tail  moth.  A  popular  theory  exists 
that  in  its  native  home  every  insect  is  held  within  reasonable 
bounds  by  parasites  or  natural  enemies,  and  that  each  insect 
has  some  one  species  of  parasite  or  natural  enemy  which  is 
responsible  for  its  control.  When  this  natural  check  fails, 
either  on  account  of  attack  by  its  own  enemies  or  for  other 
reasons,  the  original  host  will,  for  a  time,  become  noxious. 
The  problem  of  utilizing  the  natural  enemies  of  the  gipsy 
moth  and  the  brown-tail  moth  appeared  somewhat  compli- 
cated, but  the  difficulties  were  not  realized  until  after  the 
work  was  well  under  way.  It  soon  became  apparent  that 
neither  of  these  pests  was  controlled  by  a  single  species  of 
parasite  in  its  native  home.  Through  the  efforts  of  Dr.  L.  O. 
Howard,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology,  acting  in  co- 
operation with  the  State  of  Massachusetts  and  many  for- 
eign entomologists,  as  well  as  numerous  agents  employed  by 
the  bureau,  a  large  number,  approximately  30  species,  of 
parasites  and  natural  enemies  of  the  gipsy  moth  and  brown- 
tail  moth  have  been  collected  and  shipped  to  the  Gipsy  Moth 
Laboratory  at  Melrose  Highlands,  Mass.  Shipments  of  this 
sort  have  been  received  from  most  of  the  countries  of  Europe 
and  from  Japan.  The  result  has  been  that  7  or  8  species 
have  become  established  in  the  infested  area  and  are  helping 
to  solve  the  problem. 

It  has  developed,  however,  that  in  Europe,  at  any  rate, 
the  ravages  of  the  gipsy  moth  are  partially  controlled  by 
several  factors  in  addition  to  the  work  of  the  parasites. 
A  wilt  disease  which  attacks  the  caterpillars  and  causes 
heavy  mortality  among  them  is  present  not  only  there  but 


Suppression  of  the  Gipsy  and  Brown-tail  Moths.        7 

in  this  country,  and  is  a  powerful  agent  in  curtailing  the 
increase  of  the  species.  The  character  of  the  food  plants 
is  also  of  great  importance.  The  tree  growth  of  the  infested 
region  has  been  classified  according  to  its  adaptability  as 
food  for  the  gipsy  moth.  It  has  been  found  that  practically 
all  coniferous  growth,  if  grown  in  solid  stands,  fails  to  sup- 
port this  insect;  that  ash  is  not  subject  to  attack,  and  that 
maple  and  hickory  are  seldom  injured  to  any  great  extent. 

An  effort  is  being  made  to  encourage  the  growth  in  wood- 
lands of  the  tree  species  just  mentioned,  and  to  discourage 
the  growth  and  planting  of  oak,  willow,  and  poplar,  which 
are  favored  foods.  Unfortunately  the  greater  part  of  the 
infested  area  abounds  in  oak  growth  which,  for  the  most 
part,  is  of  poor  quality  and  has  a  very  low  merchantable 
value.  This  fact  discourages  greatly  the  elimination  of  fa- 
vored food  plants  in  the  infested  area.  Nevertheless  some 
progress  has  been  made  in  eliminating  favored  food  plants 
in  the  heavily  infested  areas.  Thinning  work  is  being  car- 
ried on  by  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  in  the  isolated 
colonies  near  the  borders  of  infestation  also,  but  in  addi- 
tion it  has  been  necessary  to  treat  the  egg  clusters  found  in 
these  areas  and  to  reduce  the  caterpillars  by  the  application  of 
sticky  bands  to  the  trees  and  by  thorough  spraying  in  order 
promptly  to  prevent  further  spread.  The  importation  and 
colonization  of  natural  enemies  has  served  to  reduce  the  in- 
festation in  the  many  localities  in  the  worst  infested  sections. 
These  factors  are  bringing  about  a  gradual  reduction  in  the 
main  supply  of  the  insect  which,  in  case  they  were  not  em- 
ployed, would  serve  as  a  stock  for  further  distribution  of  the 
pest.  Every  effort  is  being  made  to  prevent  long-distance 
spread  of  both  insects  by  carriage  on  products  shipped  to 
points  outside  the  infested  area.  The  territory  infested  is 
under  quarantine  by  the  Federal  Horticultural  Board  and 
all  products  likely  to  carry  the  insect  out  of  the  infested 
area  are  inspected  before  they  are  allowed  to  be  moved. 
The  border  territory  is  thoroughly  inspected  and  the  gross 
infestation  in  this  region  is  being  gradually  reduced.  It  is 
inevitable  that  new  colonies  will  be  found  from  time  to  time 
outside  the  region  now  known  to  be  infested,  but  substantial 
progress  is  being  made  in  preventing  any  widespread  dis- 
persion of  the  insect. 


8  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Each  State  has  its  own  organization  which  is  attempting 
to  reduce  the  infestation  within  its  borders,  and  much  effec- 
tive work  has  been  accomplished  as  a  result.  The  work  of 
the  Bureau  of  Entomology  is  so  ordered  as  to  avoid  duplica- 
tion and  prevent  conflict  with  that  carried  on  by  the  State 
authorities,  and  as  these  matters  have  been  arranged  in 
advance,  little  difficulty  in  this  respect  has  been  experienced. 

The  work  which  is  being  carried  on  in  New  England  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  these  insects  is  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance to  other  States.  It  has  been  well  said  that  "  an  ounce 
of  prevention  is  worth  a  pound  of  cure,"  and  this  can  be 
no  better  demonstrated  than  in  the  experience  which  Massa- 
chusetts has  had  with  the  gipsy  moth.  During  the  time 
when  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  State  to  exterminate  the 
insects  in  the  nineties,  the  largest  amount  of  money  expended 
by  the  State  in  any  one  year  was  $200,000,  and  there  is  good 
reason  to  suppose  that  if  this  work  had  been  continued  the 
annual  expenditure  at  the  present  time  would  have  been 
materially  decreased.  The  year  after  the  work  was  resumed 
and  thoroughly  organized,  an  expenditure  of  nearly  one- 
half  million  dollars  was  necessary,  and  the  amount  expended 
annually  during  most  of  the  years  since  that  time  has  been 
even  greater.  This  was  paid  by  State  appropriation  and  by 
contributions  required  by  law  from  infested  towns  and  cities 
and  from  the  owners  of  infested  property.  While  recently 
the  expenditure  has  been  reduced  somewhat,  over  a  half 
million  dollars  is  the  yearly  expenditure  in  Massachusetts  at 
the  present  time,  the  money  being  raised  by  the  same  method. 

The  New  England  States  are  carrying  the  greater  part  of 
the  burden  of  moth  infestation  because  from  them  come 
mainly  the  funds  for  control  work  and  they  are  suffering 
from  the  injury  caused  by  the  insects,  but  the  money  appro- 
priated by  the  Federal  Government,  while  assisting  these 
States  in  some  measure,  is  also  providing  insurance  to  the 
uninfested  States,  and  that  at  a  very  low  rate. 

To  illustrate  the  necessary  expenditure  by  towns  and 
cities  in  the  infested  area  in  order  properly  to  control  the 
gipsy  moth,  a  few  examples  are  cited.  These  are  all  taken 
from  towns  and  cities  in  Massachusetts,  where  the  infesta- 
tion has  been  rather  heavy  during  the  last  few  years.  The 
information  in  regard  to  population  is  based  on  the  United 


Suppression  of  the  Gipsy  and  Brown-tail  Moths.         9 

States  census  of  1910,  while  that  on  valuation  is  the  record 
of  the  local  authorities  for  the  year  1915. 

A  town  having  an  area  of  16  square  miles,  a  population  of 
559,  and  an  assessed  valuation  of  $465,513,  is  badly  infested 
with  the  gipsy  moth.  In  1915  the  expenditures  made  by  the 
town,  together  with  those  made  by  property  owners, 
amounted  to  $312.84,  which  was  at  the  rate  of  67  cents  pe.r 
$1,000  valuation,  or  52  cents  per  capita.  In  addition  to  this 
expenditure,  State  aid  to  the  amount  of  $1.322.80  was  re- 
ceived. 

A  town  having  an  area  of  19  square  miles,  a  population 
of  829,  a  valuation  of  $736,945,  and  about  as  heavily  infested 
as  the  preceding,  made  similar  expenditures  of  $968.31, 
which  was  at  the  rate  of  $1.31  per  $1,000  valuation,  or  $1.17 
per  capita.  In  addition  to  this,  State  aid  was  received  to 
the  amount  of  $2,207.90. 

In  a  third  town,  having  an  area  of  7  square  miles,  a  popu- 
lation of  7,090,  and  a  valuation  of  $6.067,430,  there  was  ex- 
pended $3,898.83,  which  amounted  to  64  cents  per  $1,000 
valuation,  or  55  cents  per  capita.  In  addition  to  this, 
$1,081.32  was  received  from  the  State.  This  town  is  a  manu- 
facturing community,  rather  thickly  settled,  with  only  a 
small  area  of  woodland,  and  not  as  heavily  infested  as  those 
previously  mentioned. 

A  fourth  town,  containing  26  square  miles,  having  a 
population  of  6,681  and  a  valuation  of  $9,318,055,  expended 
$4,447.14  on  moth  work,  which  was  at  the  rate  of  47  cents 
per  $1,000  valuation,  or  67  cents  per  capita.  In  addition  to 
this,  $407.08  was  received  from  the  State.  This  town  is 
residential  and  has  many  large  estates  and  some  excellent 
farms,  and  was  generally  infested  by  the  gipsy  moth. 

A  city  of  32  square  miles,  having  a  population  of  145,986 
and  a  valuation  of  $179,198.586,  expended  $17,190.77,  which 
was  at  the  rate  of  9  cents  per  $1,000  valuation,  or  12  cents 
per  capita;  $726.93  was  received  from  the  State.  This  city 
was  not  as  badly  infested  by  the  gipsy  moth  as  the  towns 
which  have  been  mentioned  previously,  but  the  brown-tail 
moth  infestation  was  more  severe. 

For  convenience  in  making  comparisons,  a  summary  of  the 
foregoing  information  covering  four  towns  and  one  city  is 
given  in  the  following  table: 


10 


Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 


Expenditures  for  the  control  of  the  gipsy  moth  and  brown-tail  moth 
in  certain  toivns  and  cities  in  Massachusetts. 


Assessed 
valuation. 

Area 
in 
square 
miles. 

Popula- 
tion. 

Town  and  owners'  expendi- 
tures, 1915. 

Additional 
State  aid. 

Amount. 

Per 

$1,000 
valua- 
tion. 

Per 
capita. 

$465,513 

16 

559 

$312.84 

$0.67 

$0.52 

$1,322.80 

736,  945 

19 

829 

968.31 

1.31 

1.17 

2,  207.  90 

6,067,430 

7 

7,090 

3,898.83 

.64 

.55 

1,081.32 

9,318,055 

26 

6,681 

4,447.14 

.47 

.67 

407.  08 

179,198,586 

32 

145,986 

17,  190.  77 

.09 

.12 

726.  93 

The  foregoing  figures  indicate  in  a  general  way  the  ex- 
penditures that  are  likely  to  be  necessary  in  towns  and  cities 
in  uninfested  States,  in  case  the  gipsy  moth  becomes  estab- 
lished. It  shows  conclusively  the  amount  of  protection 
which  other  sections  of  the  country  are  receiving  as  a  result 
of  the  gipsy-moth  work  which  is  being  done  in  New  Eng- 
land. A  large  part  of  the  funds  expended  by  towns  and 
cities  has  been  used  for  the  protection  of  shade  and  orna- 
mental trees,  it  having  been  found  impossible  to  carry  on 
extensive  work  in  woodlands,  owing  to  the  extreme  cost  of 
these  operations. 

The  beauty  and  attractiveness  of  most  cities  and  residen- 
tial sections  depend  on  the  trees.  These  not  only  make  the 
region  attractive  and  a  desirable  place  to  live,  but  also  add 
money  value  to  the  property.  American  cities  are  coming 
more  and  more  to  realize  the  importance  and  value  of  shade 
trees,  and  any  step  that  can  be  taken  for  their  protection 
or  to  prevent  injury  from  insects  is  most  desirable. 

To  prevent  the  introduction  of  serious  pests  into  a  region 
where  they  are  unknown  is  far  more  important  than  to  ex- 
pend large  sums  of  money  in  an  attempt  to  bring  about  their 
control  after  they  have  been  introduced  and  have  success- 
fully established  themselves.  This  is  precisely  the  work 
which  is  being  attempted  in  New  England  on  the  gipsy- 
moth  problem,  and  a  record  of  expenditures  from  a  few 
localities  which  may  be  considered  as  average  samples  indi- 
cates the  benefit  that  other  parts  of  the  United  States  are 
deriving  from  this  important  work. 

o 


Gaylord  Bros. 
Makers 

use,  N.  V. 
PAT.  JAN.  21,  1808 


491 


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